8. Chapter 8
Bec
After eating a giant portion of chocolate gelato, I was feeling much better. Hugo didn’t get any, but I don’t think he cared. Everyone who passed by fawned over him, and he absolutely soaked it up.
“You’re good at that,” I murmured to him after the latest person finished cooing and petting him. He looked up at me with a happy expression, completely unrepentant. It made me laugh.
Standing up, I tossed my empty container into a nearby trash can before picking up the leash I’d left pooled at Hugo’s feet.
Despite the two of us only knowing each other for a few hours, Hugo refused to leave my side.
Even when surrounded by all the temptations in the pet store, he’d stayed beside me.
It made buying a leash seem unnecessary, but I got one anyway.
“It’s going to break my heart to give you up,” I said with a sigh. Was this why Jim didn't take missing pet cases?
He gave a little whine, as if agreeing with me.
“Gale loves you,” I reminded both of us. He gave me another sad look. I shook my head. “Don’t give me that look, it’s out of my control.”
He huffed and then turned away from me. Ouch!
I started walking, and he was quick to follow, suddenly happy again. Keeping our pace slow, I thought over what I’d say to the guys when I got back.
If I was honest with myself, I would’ve been glad to see Marduk and Danzig after Em left. I couldn’t get the image of the mummified bodies out of my head, and I didn’t want to be alone.
Except he hadn’t called or even politely knocked, he’d broken our door as if I was in imminent danger.
If I was being held hostage, it would’ve been romantic as hell. Actually, it was kind of sexy anyway, not that I was ready to admit that.
Because so many people needed to meet Hugo, the walk back to the condo was more of an often-interrupted leisurely stroll instead of a quick journey. When I turned the final corner, I was taken aback to see a stranger carrying the broken door away and tossing it into the back of a nearby truck.
And there was a brand-new door installed in my condo. I was impressed that they’d found someone to fix it so quickly. I didn’t see Marduk, but now that he’d fixed the damage, I was willing to let him explain why he’d caused it in the first place.
Actually, that was a good question, why had he been worried so suddenly that he felt the need to bust through my front door?
Had he seen the bodies somehow? Did world serpents have premonitions or something? If he saw even a part of what I saw today, I could understand why he’d acted so aggressively to get to me.
It pushed me toward forgiveness, and even offering to let them stay for dinner. I hoped they liked spaghetti, since it was the only “fancy” thing I knew how to make.
Finished with the door, the stranger turned and noticed me watching. “Are you Bec?”
I nodded, and we walked over to the stranger. “What’s going on?”
“I’m Wallis, Marduk hired me.” He looked down at Hugo. “Aww, you’re a cutie!”
“His name is Hugo,” I said as the dog accepted Wallis's adoration.
“I got you a really nice door,” he said, petting Hugo “It has a steel core, and reinforced door frame. It won’t stop a vampire, but your average shifter won’t be getting in without a struggle.”
“Uh, great,” I said, still getting used to referencing magical creatures in average conversations.
Giving Hugo a last pet, he stood up and explained that the wood was already primed and ready to be painted any color I wanted. After that came a long explanation of what kind of paint I should use, most of which went right over my head.
“Did Danzig and Marduk leave?” I asked when Wallis paused.
I got a bad feeling when a slight look of concern passed over his expression. “They’re inside. I’m sure you can get the stains out.”
Stains? Had they done more damage to my place while I was gone?
All my peace and forgiveness vanished.
Working myself up into a nice rage, I stomped into the house with Hugo right next to me.
I paused when I found a trail of blood going from the threshold into the kitchen.
I didn’t follow it because Danzig was lying on the couch with one of my kitchen towels on his face.
The cloth was covering his forehead and one eye.
The more startling thing was that the towel was crimson with blood.
“What happened?” I cried, dropping Hugo’s leash to rush up to him.
He opened his uncovered eye and smiled up at me. “I tripped. It’s nothing.”
I leaned over and tugged on his wrist to lift the towel off his face. The angry, jagged cut on his forehead made me suck in a breath.
“You need to see a doctor,” I said. “There’s a hospital not too far away. Can you walk or should I call an ambulance?”
He grabbed my wrist before I went far. “A human doctor can’t help me. I only need more time to rest and heal.”
Marduk walked through the door, his hands full of packages and bags. He gave me a bright smile. “You’re back! Did you see your new door? It’s going to be even better than the old one. Wallis said we should paint it soon. We could look at colors tomorrow and help you paint.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “But we need to help Danzig!”
Marduk looked past me at his brother, his brows furrowed. “Do you need another healing charm?”
“No, this one is still working,” Danzig said. His smile was wavering, as if he was having a hard time focusing. “Explain, ‘k?”
The exposed eye dropped closed, and his body relaxed. Was he asleep or had he passed out from pain and blood loss?
“I’m going to call an ambulance,” I said, pulling out my phone. “He could have a serious brain injury.”
“Please don’t do that,” Marduk said, stepping over to the dining table and setting down all the stuff in his arms.
“Don’t what? Try to save Danzig’s life?” I asked, outrage and worry making my voice high.
“Don’t get humans involved,” Marduk said, tugging the phone out of my hand. Hugo made a little whining sound as he climbed up the set of doggy stairs and settled on Danzig’s stomach, the leash trailing down to the floor.
Danzig made a comforting sound and tried to pet Hugo, but his hand rested on the dog’s head for a second, then dropped to the side.
Hugo shifted his eyes to me. He looked as worried as I felt.
“Danzig is healing,” Marduk said. “I know it looks bad, but it's already much better.”
If this was much better, then the original wound must’ve been horrific!
“Did he really trip?” I asked. The bodies from earlier flashed through my head. What if that spell had caused this somehow?
“In a way,” Marduk said. It was clear he felt intensely guilty, so I knew he had something to do with Danzig’s injury.
“He used a healing charm that will accelerate the process. Human doctors wouldn’t help, and they might even hurt him.
The important thing is that he’s able to rest. After the healing process is finished, he’ll be hungry.
That’s why I ran out and got all that food. It’s from one of his favorite places.”
His care made me relax a little. If anyone was going to do what was best for Danzig, it would be Marduk.
“Maybe we should move him to my room? He could stretch out on my bed.”
Marduk looked relieved. “Yes, that would be better for him.”
With almost no effort, Marduk leaned over and picked up Danzig with Hugo still snuggled on top of him. As he turned to face me, I unclipped Hugo's leash.
“This way,” I said, and led him up the stairs and into my room. Marduk carefully laid Danzig out on the bed. Hugo slid off Danzig’s stomach, then turned in a tight circle about a dozen times. Finally, he snuggled down against Danzig’s side.
I moved to the foot of the bed and tried to get off his surprisingly complicated boots. “What kind of shoes are these?” I grumbled.
Marduk gently nudged me aside and unclipped them. “They’re motorcycle boots.”
After the boots were off, I grabbed a blanket and gently draped it over his legs.
He mumbled something, and his hand fell away from his face, taking the soiled towel with it.
I had a clear view of his cut. It looked slightly less angry than when I'd seen it downstairs. Or maybe I was fooling myself, I wasn’t sure.
“Oh good, it stopped bleeding,” Marduk said, tugging the cloth out of Danzig's lax hand.
“Should we wake him up every hour?” I asked, trying to remember what head injury protocol was. It'd been so long since I’d taken a first aid course that all I could recall was that he should be checked, which included making sure he knew his name and the year. Or something like that.
“No, we don’t need to,” Marduk said. “But if it would make you feel better, you can do it.”
“I’m worried about—oh!” I gave a little startled cry when something grabbed my arm. It was Danzig. His eyes were still closed, but his hand was firmly clasped around my wrist.
“Don’t leave,” he whispered, not opening his eyes. “I need comfort. My head hurts, and I feel better when you touch me.”
I heard Marduk let out a derisive snort, but I ignored him. “Let me get a chair. I can sit next to you, and we can hold hands.”
He tugged me closer and I sat on the edge of the bed. “Snuggles,” he demanded. “I need snuggles.”
I chewed on my lip, debating about laying down on the bed with him. If I stayed close, I could monitor him for changes in his breathing and temperature. If I was honest, I wanted to keep touching him. Seeing all that blood had scared me and being close and pressed against him was a comforting idea.
“Okay, for a little while,” I said. Tugging my hand free of his grip, I toed off my shoes and laid down on the opposite side of Danzig as Hugo.
My bed was a queen, which was plenty big for me, but seemed tiny with Danzig sprawled out in the middle. I rolled onto my side facing him. I wasn’t sure what was appropriate touching until he slid an arm under me and curled me tight against his body.
“More is better,” he mumbled.
Marduk took my arm and draped it across Danzig’s chest. “The more you touch him, the better he’ll feel.”
“Uh, okay. Is this a magic thing?”
“Yes,” they both said at the same time.
Feeling useful, even though I didn’t understand how, I relaxed into Danzig’s embrace and closed my eyes. Honestly, I was tired from all that happened today. I didn’t realize how much extra fear and stress I’d been carrying until now.
Between Marduk hovering over us and Danzig’s warm body, I felt safe enough to drift off to sleep.
Danzig
I never would’ve thought getting my head bashed in would be one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was still in some pain, but it was easily ignored with Bec’s soft little body pressed along my side. Within a few minutes of laying down, Bec’s breathing evened out and she relaxed.
Marduk pressed his fingers to the back of my hand so we could talk.
The sight of the two of you together makes me happy, he said. I could feel the truth of his words, but also a hint of jealousy.
You’ll be spooning with her soon, I assured him.
I hoped so.
I’ve been thinking about our situation, I said. Now was the best time to suggest this to Marduk. I don’t think he’d accept it otherwise. I might have a solution.
Besides kidnapping Bec? he asked, pushing humor into his words.
We need to work with her, not keep following her or trying to stop her. I waited for a blow up, but all I felt from my twin was curiosity.
Work with her? What do you mean?
I let out a relieved breath. We help her solve some cases. We take her out to some clubs and let her flirt or dance with other guys. We show her that we aren’t going to stifle her.
Marduk snatched his fingers away from my hand and stalked out of the room. I didn’t get anger from him, well not a lot of it. I mostly got a jumble of emotions. He was confused and needed time to think.
My body wanted to sleep, especially since the healing charm was using up a lot of my energy and magic. He could think, and I’d take a nap.